Desert Lands

C.R.S. tit. 36, art. 3
in effect

C.R.S. § 36-3-101 Acceptance of congressional grant

36-3-101. Acceptance of congressional grant. The state of Colorado accepts the conditions of section 4 of an act of congress entitled "An Act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894, and for other purposes, approved August 18, 1894.", together with all the grants of land to the state under the provisions of the act.

C.R.S. § 36-3-102 Selection and disposal of lands

36-3-102. Selection and disposal of lands. The selection, management, and disposal of the land shall be vested in the state board of land commissioners.

C.R.S. § 36-3-103 Acceptance of conditions

36-3-103. Acceptance of conditions. The state accepts the conditions of section 4 of an act of congress, entitled "An Act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894.", together with all acts amendatory thereto, including the amendatory acts of congress of June 11, 1896, March 3, 1901, March 1, 1907, February 24, 1909, and March 15, 1910, together with all grants of land made or to be made under the provisions of the acts.

C.R.S. § 36-3-104 Control of land - Carey act fund

36-3-104. Control of land - Carey act fund. The selection, management, and disposal of the land and all such lands as may be granted on or after June 1, 1911, to the state by the United States shall be vested in the state board of land commissioners as constituted, and that board is empowered to accept all moneys upon the part of the state from the purchasers of the land, and to place the same in a fund to be designated as the "Carey act fund", and to disburse the same as provided in this section. It is empowered to accept from the settlers, filing on lands under the provisions of the acts within the former Southern Ute and Ute Indian reservations, as defined in the amendatory acts of congress of March 1, 1907, and February 24, 1909, the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre for each acre thereof to be patented and to pay the same into the treasury of the United States. The board is authorized to accept any future grants of such lands by the United States to this state and to agree to and accept on behalf of the state any conditions that may be imposed by the United States in relation thereto.

C.R.S. § 36-3-105 Record of proceedings of land board

36-3-105. Record of proceedings of land board. The register of the board shall act as secretary, and it is his duty to keep a careful record of the transactions of the board in substantially bound books to be kept for that purpose and which shall be known as the record and proceedings of the state board of land commissioners under this article.

C.R.S. § 36-3-106 Duties and powers of register

36-3-106. Duties and powers of register. The register of the board shall have the custody of the records of the board, receive and file all proposals for the construction of irrigation works to reclaim lands selected under the provisions of this article, prepare and keep for public inspection maps and plats on a scale of two inches to the mile of all lands selected, receive entries of settlers on these lands and hear or receive the final proof of their reclamation under the rules and regulations prescribed by the state board of land commissioners, and do all work required by the board in carrying out the provisions of this article. He shall have authority to administer oaths whenever necessary in the performance of his duties as register and secretary of the board.

C.R.S. § 36-3-107 Request for selection

36-3-107. Request for selection. (1) Any person, company of persons, association, or incorporated company desiring to construct ditches, canals, or other irrigation works to reclaim land under the provisions of this article shall file with the board a request for the selection on behalf of the state by the board of the land to be reclaimed, designating said land by legal subdivisions. This request shall be accompanied by a proposal to construct the ditch, canal, or other irrigation works necessary for the complete reclamation of the land asked to be selected. The proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the rules of the board, and with the regulations of the department of the interior. It shall state the post-office address and residence of the parties; the source of water supply; the point of diversion; the place of storage, if stored; the location and dimensions of the proposed works; the estimated cost thereof; the carrying capacity of the ditch or canal; and the price and terms at which perpetual water rights will be sold to settlers on the land reclaimed. The perpetual right shall embrace a proportionate concurrent interest in the ditch, canal, or other irrigation works, together with all rights and franchises attached. All water rights sold or otherwise held under the ditch or canal shall have equal rights as to priority. (2) The proportionate concurrent interest may be either in the form of shares of stock in a company which will ultimately own and control the works, or in the form of water right deeds or contracts, as may be determined by the board. All contracts for the sale of water rights under this article shall be in the form, and upon conditions, approved by the board. In the cases of incorporated companies, it shall state the name of the company, the purpose of the incorporation, the name and places of residence of its directors and officers, and the amount of its authorized and of its paid-up capital. It shall be organized under the laws of Colorado. If the applicant is not an incorporated company, the proposal shall set forth the names of the parties and such other facts as will enable the board to determine their financial ability to carry out the proposed undertaking or as may be required by the board. (3) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the entry and reclamation of land under this article by individuals, duly qualified either singly or acting together. The state board of land commissioners shall make such rules and regulations not inconsistent with the act of congress, or the rules and regulations of the department of the interior, as may be necessary to allow the acquisition of individual water rights for application to and reclamation of specific tracts of land, not exceeding one hundred sixty acres of land for each person. The requirements of this article as to plats, maps, examinations, reports, bonds, and contracts by such rules and regulations may be so modified as to effectuate and assist the reclamation and entry of land by individuals.

C.R.S. § 36-3-108 Certified check with proposal

36-3-108. Certified check with proposal. A certified check payable to the state board of land commissioners for a sum of not less than two hundred fifty dollars and not more than two thousand five hundred dollars, as may be determined by the rules of the board, shall accompany each such request and proposal. It shall be held as a guarantee of the execution of the contract with the state, in accordance with its terms, by the party submitting such proposal, in case of the approval of the same and the selection of the land by the board. It shall be forfeited to the state in case of failure of the parties to enter into a contract with the state, in accordance with the provisions of this article.

C.R.S. § 36-3-109 Application to state engineer - maps

36-3-109. Application to state engineer - maps. The person, company of persons, associations, or incorporated companies, making application to the board for the selection of lands by the state, shall have filed with the state engineer an application to appropriate water for the reclamation of the lands described in the request to the board. This application shall be of a form prescribed by the state engineer and shall be accompanied by two copies of the map of the land to be selected, which shall show accurately the location and dimensions of the proposed irrigation works. The maps of the lands and proposed irrigation shall be prepared in accordance with the regulations of the state engineer's office and rules of the department of the interior.

C.R.S. § 36-3-110 Examination of proposal - report

36-3-110. Examination of proposal - report. (1) Immediately upon the receipt of any request and proposal as designated in section 36-3-107, it is the duty of the secretary of the board to examine the same and ascertain if it complies with the rules of the board and the regulations of the department of the interior. If it does not, it is to be returned for correction. If it does comply, it shall be submitted to the state engineer, who shall examine the same and make a written report to the board, stating whether the proposed works are feasible; whether the proposed diversion of the public waters of the state will prove beneficial to the public interest; whether there is sufficient unappropriated water in the source of supply; whether a permit to divert, store, and appropriate water through or by the proposed works has been approved by him; whether the capacity of the proposed works is adequate to reclaim the land described; and whether the maps filed comply with the requirements of his office and the regulations of the department of the interior. He shall determine whether the lands proposed to be irrigated are desert in character and such as may properly be set apart under the provisions of the act of congress referred to in section 36-3-103 and the rules and regulations of the department of the interior. (2) When the state engineer is unable, from an examination of the maps and field notes submitted for his examination, to determine whether the proposed irrigation works are feasible and adequate or whether the proposed diversion of the public water is beneficial to public interest and whether the lands proposed to be irrigated are of such a character as to come under the provisions of the act of congress referred to in section 36-3-103, he shall report to the board and also report the estimated cost of a survey and examination. It is his duty to make, or cause to be made by some qualified assistant, such survey or examination as will enable him to report intelligently thereon to the board when directed by the board to make such examination or survey.

C.R.S. § 36-3-111 Board to consider proposal

36-3-111. Board to consider proposal. On receipt of the report of the state engineer, the register shall place the request and proposal, with the engineer's report thereon, before the board for its consideration. In case of approval the board shall instruct the register to file in the local land office a request for the withdrawal of the land described in the proposal. No request on which the state engineer has reported adversely, either as to the water supply, the feasibility of the construction, capacity of the works, or as to the character of the lands sought to be irrigated, shall be approved by the board.

C.R.S. § 36-3-112 Rejection of proposal - second proposal

36-3-112. Rejection of proposal - second proposal. In case the state engineer reports adversely upon the proposed irrigation works or where requests and proposals are not approved by the board, the board shall notify the parties making such proposals of such actions and the reasons therefor. Any party so notified shall have sixty days in which to submit another proposal; but the board, at its discretion, may extend the time to six months.

C.R.S. § 36-3-113 Provision for contract - bond

36-3-113. Provision for contract - bond. Upon the withdrawal of the land by the department of the interior, it is the duty of the board to enter into a contract with the party submitting the proposal, which contract shall contain complete specifications of the location, dimensions, character, and estimated cost of the proposed ditch, canal, or other irrigation work and state the price and terms upon which the state is to dispose of the lands to settlers and such other conditions and provisions as the board may direct. This contract shall not be entered into on the part of the state until the withdrawal of these lands by the department of the interior and the filing of a satisfactory bond on the part of the proposed contractor for irrigation works, which bond shall be in a penal sum equal to five percent of the estimated cost of the works and conditioned upon carrying out the provisions of the contract with the state.

C.R.S. § 36-3-114 Time for construction - forfeiture

36-3-114. Time for construction - forfeiture. No proposal shall be considered by the board which requires a greater time than five years for the construction of the works. All proposals shall state that the work shall begin within six months from the date of contract; that at least one-tenth of the construction work shall be completed within two years from the date of said contract; that the construction shall be prosecuted diligently and continuously to completion; and that a cessation of work under the contract with the state for a period of six months after the second year, without the sanction of the board, will forfeit to the state all rights under said contract. The board, for good cause shown, shall extend the time of beginning or of completing the whole or any part of said construction work for a period commensurate with the difficulties of construction and the location of the proposed project. No extension of time shall be granted until after thirty days' notice, given by publication in at least one daily paper, published at the capital, and in at least one paper published in each county in which the project and the land sought to be watered thereby is located, of the time and place where such extension of time will be considered and opportunity afforded to all interested parties to appear and be heard.

C.R.S. § 36-3-115 Failure in construction

36-3-115. Failure in construction. (1) Upon the failure of any parties having contracts with the state for the construction of irrigation works to begin the same within the time specified by law, or to carry on work as provided in their contract, or to complete the same within the time or in accordance with the specifications of the contract with the board and the provisions of this article, it is the duty of the register to give such parties written notice of such failure. In the event the board has extended the time of the beginning or of completing the whole or any part of the construction work beyond the time set forth in the contract between the state and the party submitting the proposal, then the conditions and penalties of this section shall not apply to or be enforceable against the parties constructing the project until the time the extensions have expired. (2) If, after a period of sixty days they have failed to proceed with the work or to conform to the specifications and conditions of their contract with the state, it is the duty of the board to declare the bond and contract of such parties forfeited to the state. The board shall notify the contractors of the forfeiture of the contract, by letter to the address given in the proposal, and give notice once a week for a period of four weeks, in some newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the work is situated, and in one newspaper at the state capital in like manner and for a like period. Upon a day fixed, proposals will be received at the office of the register, at the capitol at Denver, for the purchase of the incompleted works and for the completion of the contract. (3) The time for receiving bids shall be at least sixty days after the issuance of first notice of forfeiture. The money received from the sale of partially completed works under the provisions of section 36-3-114 shall first be applied to the expense incurred by the state in their forfeiture and disposal to satisfy the bond and to the satisfaction, pro rata, of the adjudicated liens for labor or materials. The surplus, if any exists, shall be paid to the original contractors with the state.

C.R.S. § 36-3-116 State not to be made liable

36-3-116. State not to be made liable. Nothing in this article shall be construed as authorizing the board to obligate the state to pay for any work constructed under any contract or to hold the state in any way responsible to settlers for the failure of contractors to complete the work according to the terms of their contracts with the state.

C.R.S. § 36-3-117 Notice of land open for settlement

36-3-117. Notice of land open for settlement. Immediately upon the withdrawal of any land for the state by the department of the interior, and the inauguration of work by the contractors, it is the duty of the board, by publication once each week, in one newspaper of the county in which the lands are situated, and in one newspaper at the state capital for a period of four weeks, to give notice that the land is open for settlement, and the price and terms upon which the land will be sold to settlers by the state.

C.R.S. § 36-3-118 Application to enter - requirements

36-3-118. Application to enter - requirements. Any citizen of the United States, or any person having declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, over the age of twenty-one years, may make application, under oath, to the board to enter any of the land in an amount not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres for any one person. The application shall set forth that the person desiring to make such entry does so for the purpose of actual reclamation, cultivation, and settlement in accordance with the act of congress set out in section 36-3-103 and the laws of this state relating thereto and that the applicant has never received the benefit of the provisions of this article to an amount greater than one hundred and sixty acres, including the number of acres specified in the application under consideration. Such application must be accompanied by a certified copy of a contract for a perpetual water right, made and entered into by the party making application, with the person, company, or association which has been authorized by the board to furnish water for the reclamation of the lands. If the applicant has at any time entered land under the provisions of this article, he shall so state in his application, together with the description, date of entry, and location of the land. The board shall file in its office the application and papers relating thereto and, if allowed, issue a certificate of location to the applicant. All applications for entry shall be accompanied by a payment of twenty-five cents per acre, which shall be paid as a partial payment on the land if the application is allowed. All certificates, when issued, shall be recorded in a book to be kept for that purpose. If the application is not allowed, the twenty-five cents per acre accompanying it shall be refunded to the applicant. The board shall dispose of all lands accepted by the state under the provisions of this article at a uniform price of fifty cents per acre, half to be paid at the time of entry and the remainder at the time of making final proof by the settler.

C.R.S. § 36-3-119 Disposition of funds

36-3-119. Disposition of funds. As provided in the act of congress set out in section 36-3-103, all moneys received by the board from the sale of lands selected under the provisions of this article shall be deposited with the state treasurer, and such sums as may be necessary shall be available for the payment of the expenses of the board and of the state engineer's office incurred in carrying out the provisions of this article. Such expenses shall be paid by the controller in the manner provided by law, upon vouchers duly approved by the board for the work performed under its direction and by the state engineer for all work performed by the state engineer's office; and any balance remaining over and above the expense necessary to carry out the provisions of this article shall constitute a trust fund in the hands of the state treasurer, to be used for the reclamation of other desert lands.

C.R.S. § 36-3-120 Duty of settler - proof of settlement

36-3-120. Duty of settler - proof of settlement. (1) Within one year after any person, company of persons, association, or incorporated company authorized to construct irrigation works under the provisions of this article has notified the settlers under such works that it is prepared to furnish water under the terms of its contract with the state, the settlers shall cultivate and reclaim not less than one-sixteenth part of the land filed upon. Within two years after the notice, the settler shall have actually irrigated and cultivated not less than one-eighth of the land filed upon. Within three years from the date of notice, the settler shall appear before the register, or a judge or clerk of the district court in the county in which such land is situated, as designated by the register, and make final proof of reclamation, settlement, and occupation. The proof shall embrace evidence that he has a perpetual water right for his entire tract of land sufficient in volume for the complete irrigation and reclamation thereof, that he is an actual settler thereon, and that he has cultivated and irrigated not less than one-eighth part of said tract and such further proof, if any, as may be required by the regulations of the department of the interior or the board. (2) The officer taking this proof is entitled to receive a fee, to be fixed by the state board of land commissioners, not to exceed five dollars and to be paid by the settler. It shall be in addition to the price paid to the state for the land. All proofs so received shall be submitted by the register to the board and shall be accompanied by the last final payment for the land, and, on the approval of the same by the board, they shall be forwarded to the secretary of the interior, with a request that a patent to the lands be issued to the state. (3) When the state, through its state board of land commissioners, can make proof that such irrigation works have been completed for the reclamation of the lands so segregated and that an ample supply of water is actually furnished in a substantial ditch or canal or by artesian wells or reservoirs, for such purpose, the board shall apply for a patent to such lands, in the manner provided by the regulations of the department of the interior and in accordance with the provisions of the acts of congress relating thereto, without waiting for settlement or cultivation of such lands.

C.R.S. § 36-3-121 Patent - water lien - foreclosure - deed

36-3-121. Patent - water lien - foreclosure - deed. (1) Upon the issuance of a patent to any lands by the United States to the state, notice shall be forwarded to the settler upon such land. It is the duty of the board, under the signature of its president and attested by its secretary, to issue a patent to said lands from the state to the settler. All water rights acquired under the provisions of this article shall attach to and become appurtenant to the land as soon as the title passes from the United States to the state. (2) Any person, company, association, or incorporated company furnishing water for any tract of land shall have a first and prior lien on the water right and land upon which the water is used, for all deferred payments for the water right. The lien shall be in all respects prior to any other liens created or attempted to be created by the owner and possessor of said land. The lien shall remain in full force until the last deferred payment for the water right is fully paid and satisfied according to the terms of the contract under which the water right was acquired. The contract for the water right upon which the lien is founded shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the land is situate. (3) Upon default of any of the deferred payments secured by any lien under the provisions of this article, the person, company of persons, association, or incorporated company holding or owning said lien may foreclose the same according to the terms and conditions of the contract granting and selling to the settler the water right. All sales shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation, published in the county where the land and water right is situate, for six consecutive weeks, and shall be sold to the highest bidder at the front door of the courthouse of the county or such place as may be agreed upon by the terms of the contract. The sheriff of the county shall give all notices of sale and sell all property and make and execute a good and sufficient deed to the purchaser. At the sale, no person, company of persons, association, or incorporated company, owning or holding any lien, shall bid in or purchase any land or water right at a price less than the amount due on the deferred payment for the water right and land and the costs incurred in making the sale of said land and water right. The sheriff shall execute a certificate of sale as in case of sale on execution, subject in all respects to redemption as in such case; and if not redeemed the sheriff shall execute a deed as upon sale on execution.

C.R.S. § 36-3-122 Requirements of maps

36-3-122. Requirements of maps. The maps of the lands selected under the provisions of this article shall show the location of the canals or other irrigation works approved in the contract with the board. All lands filed upon shall be subject to the right-of-way of such canals or irrigation works. The right-of-way shall embrace the entire width of the canal and such additional width as may be required for its proper operation and maintenance, the width of right-of-way to be specified in the contracts provided for in this article.

C.R.S. § 36-3-123 Rules - report of construction company

36-3-123. Rules - report of construction company. The board shall provide suitable rules for the filing of proposals for constructing irrigation works, and for the entry and payment of the land by settlers, and for the forfeiting of entry by settlers upon failure to comply with the provisions of this article. There shall be kept in the office of the board, for public inspection, copies of all maps, plats, contracts for the construction of irrigation works, and the entries of land by settlers. It shall require from each person, company of persons, association, or incorporated company engaged in the construction of irrigation works, under the provisions of this article, an annual report, to be submitted to the board on or before November 1 of each year. This report shall show the number of water rights sold, the number of users of water under the irrigation works, the legal subdivisions of land for which water is to be furnished, the names of the officers of the company, the acreage of land which the irrigation works is prepared to supply with water, and such other data as the board requires. The rules required by this section may be waived in the case of irrigation works being constructed by a person, colony, or association of persons to furnish water for land settled upon and being reclaimed by themselves.

C.R.S. § 36-3-124 Duties of employees - fees

36-3-124. Duties of employees - fees. (1) The board shall prescribe the duties of all its employees and shall collect the following fees: For filing each application, one dollar; for filing each proof, one dollar; for issuing each patent, one dollar; and for making certified copies of papers or records, the same fee as provided for to be charged by the secretary of state for like services. (2) A fee book shall be kept by the register, showing all fees received by him from any source whatever. The money collected for fees shall be paid to the state treasurer and credited to the fund created by virtue of this article.

C.R.S. § 36-3-125 Record of work - publication

36-3-125. Record of work - publication. The board shall maintain a detailed record of the names, location, and character of the irrigation works in process of construction; the acreage and legal subdivisions of land intended to be reclaimed; the estimated cost of said irrigation works; the price of water rights from such irrigation works; and the terms of payment for water rights and land. Publication of this information and of other material circulated in quantity outside the board shall be subject to the approval and control of the executive director of the department of natural resources.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-36.docxFetched: 10/6/2026